Sneak Peek: Raising Money and Dropping Jaws

It was big news when Hillary Clinton's campaign announced yesterday that it raised $27 million in the third quarter fundraising period yesterday. She had far outpaced her Democratic rivals and for the first time, raised more money in a filing period than Barack Obama.

Today's jaw-dropping fundraising announcement isn't quite $27 million but considering who raised it…it's just as newsworthy.

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports that Ron Paul, the Republican Libertarian ob-gyn from Texas, announced today that his campaign raised $5,080,000 in the third quarter. This is more than double his second quarter figure of $2.4 million and no small sum for an insurgent campaign, Wolf reports.

Consider this:

Paul's Q3 figure is five times what was raised in the same period by Mike Huckabee, who is considered by some political pundits to be a candidate with the most potential to gain ground on the current frontrunners
It puts Paul in the same fundraising neighborhood as top-tier Republican candidates like John McCain, who still has not released his third quarter numbers yet

To be absolutely clear: Paul's fundraising this quarter not only outpaces Huckabee, but also Democrats Chirs Dodd and Joe Biden. He was only $2 million behind former Sen. John Edwards, who Vegas odds folks still have in great shape to win the whole thing!

For your latest on the state of the presidential race -- tune into tonight's "World News with Charles Gibson" for the latest ABC News/Washington Post 2008 general election poll.

On the campaign trail. . .

Mitt Romney has a full plate in New Hampshire. He starts his day by meeting Presstek Inc. employees in Hudson at 8:45 am ET and then heads to an "Ask Mitt Anything" even at Saint Anselm College in Manchester at 10:00 am ET. He stays in Manchester for economy-focused "Ask Mitt Anything" at 12:15 pm ET. Next up is a 1:45 pm ET meeting with residents of Derry before a final "Ask Mitt Anything" stop in Merrimack.

John McCain addresses the Pawleys Island Rotary at 1:00 pm ET in Pawleys Island, SC. McCain speaks at a 5:30 pm ET cocktail reception on the opening of the Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington, DC.

Rudi Giuliani meets with residents in Clayton, Mo., at 9:00 am ET and later heads up the I-55 corridor to the Chi-Town area. Giuliani attends a 2:30 pm ET town hall meeting at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Ill. and he speaks at a fundraiser in downtown Chicago at 8:15 pm ET.

Mike Huckabee also speaks at the Defending the American Dream Summit.

As for the Democrats. . .

Hillary Clinton is at the Carnegie Institute in Washington, D.C. at 9:00 am ET to talk about America's commitment to math and science.

Barack Obama continues his "Judgment and Experience Tour" with three campaign stops in Iowa. He hits the Boys and Girls Club of Blackhawk County in Waterloo at 1:30 pm ET, a Buchanan County Meet the Candidate event in Independence at 4:15 pm ET and, finally, Luther College in Decorah at 8:30 pm ET.

John Edwards is in Columbus, Ken., for a town hall meeting at 1:30 pm ET. His wife, Elizabeth, who announced in March that her breast cancer had returned, gives the keynote address at a luncheon to support the Breast Cancer Center at St. Anthony's Health Care in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Chris Dodd attends to Senate duties in Washington D.C.

Bill Richardson swings into Georgetown University for what his campaign calls a "major policy address on Iraq and Defense Modernization." The 10:00 am ET speech will include a proposal to cut more than $57 billion per year from the national defense budget and "strengthen our national security" says the campaign.

Tivo Alert! Thursday "World News with Charles Gibson" kicks off a special series, "Who is?" that explores the rarely seen private side of the presidential contenders. Through in-depth interviews with the candidates, anchor Charles Gibson goes beyond their standard stump speech to explore their backgrounds, the intimate details of their lives, and the events that have brought them to this point in their political careers. Bill Richardson is first up in the series, which continues weekly through December on "World News" and its webcast.

Joe Biden unveils his education proposal at East High School in Des Moines, Iowa at 10:45 am ET followed by three more Iowa events. He meets Keokuk County Democrats for lunch in Sigourney at 2:00 pm ET, has a meet-and-greet with Wapello County Democrats at 6:00 pm ET in Ottumwa and lastly makes his way to Burlington for coffee with Des Moines County Democrats at 8:30 pm ET.

Dennis Kucinich is attending to congressional duties.

And in the states. . .
Washingtonpost.com's Chris Cillizza reports that New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici will announce tomorrow that he will retire from the Senate in 2008, making an already rocky landscape that much more difficult for the GOP next November. LINK